join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
Hiss—
Ishikawa slowly opened his eyes, and what greeted him was the familiar ceiling, along with the familiar beeping sounds of medical instruments around him.
Intensive Care Unit.
Coming here after a long time, while it made Ishikawa feel a bit helpless, he was mostly relieved.
"You're awake!?"
A surprised voice came from beside him.
Only then did Ishikawa realize that many people were gathered around his hospital bed.
Nayura stood to the right of the bed, and behind Nayura stood the exceptionally tall Kotetsu Isane.
"You woke up quite quickly, didn't you?"
A gentle voice came from the left. Ishikawa turned his head and saw Unohana Retsu.
Behind Unohana Retsu stood Zaraki, Yachiru, Ikkaku Madarame, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Ōmaeda Marechiyo, and finally, Abarai Renji.
Without exception, everyone here was someone who hadn't made it to the Central 46 before.
And also…
The people Ishikawa had sent a group message to via Denreishinki before he stormed the Central 46.
No, wait~
Ishikawa hadn't sent messages to Zaraki and Yachiru. Zaraki didn't even have a Denreishinki, and because he found it troublesome, he and Yachiru were completely out of Ishikawa's plans.
But it was normal that the two of them didn't rush to the Central 46 like the other Captains…
"Useless, I haven't even gone yet, and you've already collapsed?"
Ignoring Zaraki's extremely displeased words, Ishikawa turned to Captain Unohana and asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"
"One day."
One day!?
Ishikawa frowned. Too long.
"Ishikawa-nii… is the message you sent me earlier true?"
Just then, Abarai Renji suddenly rushed to the bedside, asking anxiously, "Forty-…"
But before he could finish, Ōmaeda beside him forcefully elbowed him in the stomach, cutting off his words.
"While you were causing this incident, a major event also occurred in the Human World."
Ōmaeda looked at Ishikawa, his voice heavy, "A Menos Grande appeared in the Human World. The Onmitsukidō found a Quincy and an unknown Shinigami at the scene, as well as… Kuchiki Rukia, who had lost her Shinigami powers."
"The Onmitsukidō immediately reported this to the Central Central 46. The Central 46 issued a judgment, ordering the Onmitsukidō to arrest the major violator, Kuchiki Rukia, and execute her by Sōkyoku!"
Ōmaeda paused, then turned to Abarai Renji beside him: "At this moment, Captain Kuchiki is negotiating with Captain Soi Fon, hoping that the Onmitsukidō can hand over the task of arresting Kuchiki Rukia to their Sixth Division."
Ishikawa's eyes flashed with a peculiar light upon hearing this, but he wasn't surprised by the news.
It was just that Aizen's actions were even more decisive than he had imagined.
If it was happening simultaneously, it meant that before he raided the Central 46, Aizen had already anticipated what might happen next.
The plan was moved up~
Which also meant insufficient preparation.
And…
Ishikawa glanced at Unohana Retsu, who had a gentle smile on her face by the bed. The others were just incidental; Ishikawa hadn't expected them to discover anything.
But with Unohana Retsu, while he was disrupting Aizen's plan, if she knew everything beforehand and observed with caution, she might gain something.
However, Aizen was clearly prepared for this point as well, otherwise he wouldn't have moved his original plan up so much.
His initial plan, one could say, had completely failed.
Even the backup plan prepared for encountering Aizen didn't even get a chance to be used.
And the final third option was a fallback if the first two failed. The failure of the first two might actually allow the third fallback option to catch Aizen red-handed.
Provided he could survive.
Fortunately, Nayura did not deceive him on this point and kept her promise to save his life, although the method she used was a bit strange.
If all three plans failed…
Ishikawa could only sigh that above the Soul Society, there might be a ghost named 'Ram' who set the standard for the bandit industry, and he just happened to cast his merciful gaze upon him.
As long as Unohana Retsu felt something was amiss, she would continue to investigate, even without Ishikawa's guidance.
Ishikawa had no idea what changes her early investigation might bring.
Even if he knew, he would be powerless. Although the injury to his Soul Binding was barely maintained from collapsing with the addition of physical points, the experience points provided by Nayura were actually not many.
However, compared to when they first met in Rukongai, there were still many more.
Probably because at this time, she already held substantial status, not the powerless Sage status before inheriting, but the chief Scribe of the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
65 points of favorability provided Ishikawa with nearly 10,000 experience points in total.
Even with all these experience points added to his physique, they still didn't fully restore Ishikawa's Soul Binding.
This shows how terrifying the destructive power carried by Aizen's single strike was!
However, although severely damaged, Ishikawa also gained an unexpected harvest.
That was the key to deciphering Kyōka Suigetsu.
Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu is a Zanpakuto that, once activated, can gain an absolute advantage.
If the user were not Aizen, Kyōka Suigetsu's ability would not be so powerful.
Because the possibility of suppressing the changes of Kyōka Suigetsu itself through stronger Reiatsu exists.
However, this point could not be applied to Aizen, because his Reiatsu had become terrifyingly strong, and it was no exaggeration to call him one of the few Shinigami who had reached the peak of Reiatsu.
The future Aizen was even able to confuse 'Almighty's' foresight of the future, turning the foreseen future into a future fabricated by Kyōka Suigetsu.
Although due to the limitation of Reiatsu intensity, this confusion did not last long.
But it was already enough to demonstrate the power of his ability.
So, to break Kyōka Suigetsu, Ishikawa, through memory and continuous research, hadn't thought of a very good method.
It was nothing more than a few options.
Being blind;
Touching the blade before activating complete hypnosis;
Finding a way to bind and capture his true body;
Or interfering with vision, causing one's own vision to change, thereby feeling a sense of incongruity in an instant, which was the 'self-anesthetizing' method Ishikawa had used before.
Among them, being blind, even if Ishikawa poked out his own eyes after having seen Kyōka Suigetsu's Shikai, he would still be controlled by Kyōka Suigetsu.
As for touching the blade…
After his plan failed, he might not have a blade to touch anymore.
Several methods could be said to be failed methods.
But after being struck by Aizen's blade, Ishikawa made a new discovery.
That was to feel with the body…
Strictly speaking, this wasn't really a discovery; it was just something Ishikawa had overlooked.
Because in his memory, Commander Yamamoto precisely used this method to capture Aizen's true body after enduring a direct strike.
However, he was also a monster, and Ishikawa had not thought of learning from him before.
His method also didn't suit Ishikawa, because Commander Yamamoto's method of breaking it could be described as 'simple and crude.'
In short… it means that since one cannot see through Kyōka Suigetsu, then destroy all things within a certain space, even maximizing the damage in a suicidal manner.
This method was also the large-scale Kido coverage that Ishikawa had considered.
Neither his Reiatsu nor his mastery of Kido could support Ishikawa in emulating this.
Kyōka Suigetsu is not flawless; as long as the Reiatsu is strong enough, one will still feel some incongruity, but considering that battlefield situations change in an instant, even a momentary interference is a huge advantage.
In addition, Kyōka Suigetsu also has a major drawback, which is that maintaining Kyōka Suigetsu consumes a large amount of Reiatsu, but Aizen's immense Reiatsu has, to some extent, masked this flaw.
However, from the situation where 'Nayura's father' was eager to return to the Central Central 46 before the Captains and Vice-Captains arrived at the scene, it seems that if the Captains were to gather simultaneously, even with his vast Reiatsu, he might not be able to maintain a perfect illusion.
And after that, the real Aizen had probably already quietly swapped places with Tosen who had arrived.
That was actually the best time to expose Aizen's identity, but unfortunately, being severely wounded and completely defenseless, Ishikawa dared not reveal everything.
After all, if Aizen had wanted to kill him, Ishikawa at that time wouldn't even have had the chance to retreat behind Commander Yamamoto.
Just as he said when he accepted the commission, what he needed was a retreat he could control, not to gamble his life on whether others could rescue him in time.
But back to the main topic.
The moment the long blade pierced his Soul Binding, Ishikawa personally experienced Aizen's presence.
Even…
At that instant, Ishikawa's frantically operating Reiatsu Imprint absorbed and retained a trace of Kyōka Suigetsu's energy from that strike!
This was not intentional on Ishikawa's part, as at that time, all his attention was focused on unlocking the Thirteenfold Barrier, and he never thought that 'Tosen' would break free so quickly.
But the Reiatsu Imprint was created by fusing Development Spiritual Mark and Hollow Mark, possessing both characteristics. While Ishikawa was frantically consuming his own Reiatsu, the Reiatsu Imprint was also frantically absorbing the surrounding Reishi.
If it were just that, it still wouldn't be able to achieve this.
But the strike from Aizen pierced the most important part of the Spirit Body, one of the acupoints that generate spiritual power.
Ishikawa immediately invested experience points to protect his Soul Binding from collapsing, and at the same time, preserved the overflowing energy from the damaged Soul Binding, which was then forcibly absorbed by the Reiatsu Imprint.
Finally, through a fortunate coincidence, he successfully retained this trace…
The energy of Kyōka Suigetsu!
It wasn't Aizen's Reiatsu, but energy of the same nature as his, the energy inherent in Kyōka Suigetsu's ability itself, which could also be described as the residue left behind the moment the illusion shattered.
This unexpected gain could be said to be the greatest gain of Ishikawa's plan this time.
Even if the plan had succeeded, it might not have yielded such a huge gain.
Moreover…
He also gained an older sister who was a Sage of the Central Central 46… In Soul Society, he could be considered someone with the biggest backer.
However…
(Ishikawa-nii, Ishikawa-nii…)
Thinking of how Nayura used to address him, Ishikawa still felt a strange sense of incongruity in his heart.
…
For the next few days, Ishikawa remained in the intensive care unit, receiving care from Nayura.
During this time, the Golden Seal Association came several times to request his release, but Captain Unohana always refused, citing Ishikawa's unstable condition, keeping both of them at the Comprehensive Relief Station.
The Golden Seal Association expressed no opinion on this, and the Central Central 46, as 'Nayura's father' had said, seemed to be in an important meeting, completely sealed off.
Unohana Retsu, for her part, had been busy with something unknown these past few days, often disappearing.
And Kuchiki Rukia…
She was predictably captured and her execution date was set.
The series of sudden changes filled the Seireitei with a strange, heavy atmosphere.
…
"…Kukaku, you don't need to worry too much. Ishikawa is currently in the Fourth Division."
In the Shiba family's living room, a man and a woman sat opposite each other. The pale middle-aged man smiled slightly:
"Moreover, the Comprehensive Relief Station is now surrounded by Onmitsukidō and Squad Members from the Tenth Division. A Captain remains there every day, so his safety can still be guaranteed."
Kukaku pouted at this, "Supervision is supervision. You make it sound like he's being protected."
"Isn't he?"
Ukitake slowly picked up the wine cup on the table and took a light sip: "Kukaku, do you know why Ishikawa wanted to break into the Central 46 with Nayura?"
"How could I know? But…"
Kukaku paused, then said without hesitation, "Since he did it, there must be a reason for it. Besides, this incident was caused by that Nayura, who was worried about her father's safety. The person who should bear the main responsibility is her, right?"
"Is there a reason for him to do it?"
Ukitake slowly put down his wine cup, speaking as if to himself:
"At first, I truly didn't understand why he would force his way into the Central 46, nor did I understand why Nayura would be worried about her father's safety, but…"
"If I combine these with the recent behavior and judgments of the Central 46, I suddenly have an idea."
"I'm not the only one who feels something is off because of Ishikawa's actions."
"However, Shunsui's conjecture is different from mine. He suspects that someone is interfering with the Central 46' decisions, while what I'm thinking is somewhat unbelievable to me."
"Besides the two of us, both Captain Soi Fon and Captain Aizen have subtly sensed that something is amiss and have secretly begun investigations…"
"That's enough!"
Kukaku waved her hand, annoyed, "What's the point of telling me all this? I'm just a fireworks maker in Rukongai now. As long as Ishikawa is safe, I have no interest in understanding your Shinigami affairs at all."
Hearing this, Ukitake couldn't help but shake his head, and did not continue speaking.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr